X-Men: The Official Game

Still, you've got to be a real fanboy to want to mash your way through all two dozen or so of its missions. [July 2006, p.84]

X-Men: The Official Game isn't a terrible game, but it's not any good, either. It managed to dip down below mediocre and into the realm of "Why bother?" It's short, uninteresting, and probably won't keep your attention based solely on the fighting, either. It's an odd mishmash that just doesn't work out the way it was supposed to.

X-Men: The Official Game was built for fans of the X-Men and the movie but also offers some excellent third person action for the more casual fans of the series. It does have a lot of fan service and fans will be able to look past many of the games flaws, but for those who aren't fans per se, the flaws will become glaringly obvious quickly, especially on the 360 edition.

Though it has a good story the horrible cuts-scenes, a dodgy camera, and rudimentary controls give me clarity of mind to say that this game isn’t worth the price tag it carries and joins the already full licensed game garbage bin.

The disappointment comes from the fact that it simply feels average, especially for a next-gen title. I left the game feeling like I wanted more, whether it was better visuals, more diverse game play, or simply a fresh helping of innovation.

Despite being able to control three very different characters, it lacks any sort of punch to make the game’s features stand out.

The gameplay is definitely not worth the $59.99 price tag of a next generation title.

Everything considered, the gameplay, the graphics, the dialog, the music, make X-Men: The Official Game an officially average game.

It's nice to play as different characters, and the presentation is true to the comic book essence, but the whole thing feels like a condensed action affair that we've seen before, countless times.

Wonderful in its mediocrity, it's not a bad game but you could easily lose it in a crowd, even if it had blue skin.

Nice graphics and smooth gameplay are no substitute for imagination.

More characters and multiplayer modes would have improved it a great deal, but as it is, there’s plenty of levels and engaging mutant action.

The problem is the fact that it all feels average, like a game that’s only intention is to compliment the movie with a fun few hours of gaming. It pains me to see that done to such a license.

The combat and stage design are substandard in every way, enemy AI is ordinary coin-op fare, and the presentation elements are nowhere near the level we've come to expect from Marvel or Activision.

The killing part is fun when you find the special X-Men powers amusing, but that river runs dry approximately an hour into the game, which is actually a decent ratio when compared to the total playtime of about six hours.

While I can appreciate trying to take the series in a new direction, it just does not work well at all. Comic book games work best when fans feel like they are in the world and in complete control. This one takes that away right from the start. What is left is a long “Brawler” instead of the first next-gen comic-themed game that allows fans to be part of the action. At best this one is a week rental even for die hard fans.

Only controlling three characters, no multiplayer of any kind, and reverting to basically a 3rd-person "beat 'em up" is not the way to take this franchise.

One of the chief problems with X-Men lies in its mission structure. Branching paths are often a good thing, but when they are as disconnected to point where any semblance of an underlying plot is compromised at these are here, any benefit of such a feature is wasted.

X-Men: The Official Game is officially a disaster.

Offers nothing more than an average game inspired by a great movie.

There’s nothing here that warrants a buy. Fans that want to know why Nightcrawler wasn’t in the movie will want to check out the game from your local video rental store.

It's not that it's entirely broken, mind you, but X-Men's missions are entirely generic and devoid of captivating content, and there are enough annoying little glitches and other obnoxious things prevalent throughout to give the game that thrown-together feel.

X-Men: The Official Game turns out to be three big mini-games rather than one fleshed out single-player game. No multiplayer is open to friends to join in, the replay value is only found in beating it on harder difficulty levels to gain more achievement points, and just about everything about this game feels wrong in every way. I can’t recommend buying this even if you are a fan of the franchise.

Nightcrawler and his teleportation attacks are a definite highlight, but the majority of the game is a mundane romp from Point A to Point B, with a number of unintelligent enemies blocking the way.

It's decent at first, but after a few hours of disarming endless bombs, slaying ninjas and flinging ice everywhere, you'll just want to power down the console and go see the movie instead.

While the gameplay does have its high points (again, mostly surrounding Nightcrawler), it's also quite often littered with monotony thanks to seemingly nonexistent enemy A.I., confusion (poor level design), and frustration (glitches, a sometimes lack of checkpoints, and uneven challenges).

As it stands, it's simply a mindless beat 'em up with a few unlockables and some formulaic gameplay.

X-Men: The Official Game isn’t all bad, and I’ve probably made it sound a lot worse than it actually is, it’s just that if you’re looking for a yardstick for middle-of-the-road gameplay and average execution, you’ve found it.